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North Sea oil industry 'close to collapse'

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Islamic State crisis: US hits IS oil targets in Syria. 25 September 2014Last updated at 10:12 ET A US Navy F-18E Super Hornet receiving fuel from a KC-135 Stratotanker over north Iraq this week The US-led coalition against Islamic State (IS) has targeted 12 oil refineries in Syria on a third night of air strikes against the militants.

Raids carried out by US, Saudi and UAE aircraft killed 14 of the group's fighters and five civilians in eastern Syria, activists said. According to the Pentagon, the refineries generated up to $2m (£1.2m) per day in revenue for the militants. In northern Syria, Kurdish forces say they have pushed back an IS advance. US President Barack Obama has vowed to dismantle the IS "network of death". Sources: Financial Times, EIA, Iraq Energy Institute, Maplecroft IS has seized large areas of Syria and Iraq in recent months and controls several oilfields. The US has launched nearly 200 air strikes against the militants in Iraq since August and expanded the operation against IS to Syria on Monday.

Energy Trends

Disruption of Energy Transfers. Fracking. The EU's nuclear links with Russia. Oil and Gas news: BP Oil Spill, oil and gas prices.
And a Huge Challenge. This story is part of a special series that explores energy issues.

For more, visit The Great Energy Challenge. Ghana starts producing oil Wednesday from a massive offshore field, while trying to avert the mistakes of other African nations. The Jubilee field is expected to raise hundreds of millions of dollars a year in revenue for the government's coffers—money that could help this poor West African country improve people's lives by investing in education, health care, industry, and infrastructure.

(Related: National Geographic Guide to Ghana) But Ghana faces an enormous challenge. Some even worry that greed could transform Ghana into a smaller-scale Nigeria, a nearby oil-rich country plagued by corruption, ethnic violence, and frequent spills—often tied to vandalism.
Balcombe: a village divided by oil, saved by solar power. The exploratory drilling polarised opinion in this quintessential rural community with its pub, shop, church and primary school.

There have been awkward moments on the railway station platform and in church as “pros” and “antis”, once friends, now find themselves in opposing camps. “The protest last summer was the biggest thing to happen to Balcombe since the First and Second World Wars, and, before that, since the railway arrived,” says Balcombe biology teacher Jackie Emery. “I daren’t mention it in the hairdressers in case someone takes offence.”
China in Africa: investment or exploitation? - Inside Story. China's Premier Li Keqiang is making his first visit to Africa since taking office last year.

The week-long trip will take him to Ethiopia, Nigeria, Angola and Kenya. China is investing billions of dollars in Africa but Beijing has been accused of exploiting the continent's vast mineral and energy resources, at the expense of local people. Premier Li has dismissed talk of any problems as "growing pains" and "isolated incidents". China has been Africa's biggest trade partner since 2009.
In 2014 Chinese-African trade will surpass $200 billion. On 20 February, Chinese President Xi Jinping, hosting Senegalese visiting President Macky Sall in Beijing said, "In 2013, Chinese-African trade surpassed $200 billion for the first time, making China Africa's biggest trading partner.

That all stands witness to the endlessly renewed vitality of Sino-African friendship, to the scale of the potential for cooperation and the excellent outlook for the new kind of Sino-African strategic partnership.
" Xi added that that Chinese direct investment in Africa grew 44 percent. Highlighting Africa’s importance to the Chinese leadership, after Xi became president in March 2013 he visited Tanzania, South Africa and the Republic of Congo as part of his first overseas tour.

Select the reports you are interested in:NO-SPAM: Under no circumstances will we EVER rent, sell or give away your email. Theconversation. The Crimea crisis has focused our attention on the vexed question of Europe’s energy supplies.

To a great extent Europe depends on Russia for its oil and gas, which gives Vladimir Putin disproportionate political leverage. One of the biggest possible alternative suppliers is the Gulf of Guinea, which is thought to have vast untapped reserves – but which is also a world epicentre of maritime crime. Alongside piracy and armed robbery at sea, seaborne crimes such as illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing, oil bunkering, trafficking, and the dumping of toxic waste all disrupt sea trade lanes, affect the sustainable exploitation of natural resources, and degrade the wellbeing of local populations.

The end of oil?
What Do Iraq, The Ukraine And The Polar Vortex Have In Common?
World Debate - Powering Development in the 21st Century Part 1. East Africa's geothermal energy revolution. Ethiopia's renewable energy revolution. East Anglia One wind farm approved off Suffolk coast. 17 June 2014Last updated at 11:14 ET The East Anglia One Offshore wind farm should be similar to the Ormonde project in the Irish Sea.

Major changes for government renewable energy subsidies. 4 December 2013Last updated at 07:42 ET By James Landale Deputy political editor Subsidies for offshore windfarms are set to rise at the expense of onshore options The government is to make big changes to the way it subsidises renewable energy, it has announced. Ministers have said that they will cut support for onshore wind and solar energy, but give more backing to offshore wind power.
El Salvador Prioritizes Geothermal Energy Development. During the last two decades, the global installed capacity for geothermal electricity has nearly doubled.

Despite this recent expansion, geothermal energy is not getting the same level of attention as other renewable energy resources, and it remains heavily underutilized. If the world were able to tap just a small portion of the Earth's heat, we could provide everyone with clean and safe energy for centuries.

Current estimates of our global potential for geothermal energy range from 35 gigawatts (GW) to 2,000 GW. However, simple technological improvements could greatly increase these projections. For example, a Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) study concluded that if the United States were to invest US$1 billion in geothermal research and development over the next 15 years, the country couldincrease its generating capacity by 100 GW by 2050.

Central America, in particular, is progressing quickly as several countries begin to develop previously untouched geothermal resources.
Map of the UK's energy infrastructure. Coal resurgence calls undermine clean energy commitments. 21 November 2012Last updated at 19:01 ET By Richard Anderson Business reporter, BBC News Chinese coal production is rising despite a massive renewable energy drive Coal, the dirtiest and most polluting of all the major fossil fuels, is making a comeback.

Despite stringent carbon emissions targets in Europe designed to slow global warming and massive investment in renewable energy in China, demand for this most ancient source of energy is greater than ever.
Vanadium: The metal that may soon be powering your neighbourhood. 13 June 2014Last updated at 19:24 ET By Laurence Knight BBC World Service.

French power cable barge to 'beach' in Gorey. 15 June 2014Last updated at 04:12 ET The 7,000 tonne barge is moving at 50 metres per hour A new electricity cable linking the seabed between France and Jersey is expected to reach the shore of Grouville Bay later.
China on world's 'biggest push' for wind power. Nuclear power mapped. UK Energy Profile: Second-Largest Producer Of Natural Gas In EU - Analysis. By EIA The United Kingdom (UK) is the sixth largest economy in the world, as well as the largest producer of oil and the second-largest producer of natural gas in the European Union (EU).

Following years of exports of both fuels, the UK became a net importer of natural gas and crude oil in 2004 and 2005, respectively.
US set 'to take very significant step' on climate. 31 May 2014Last updated at 06:46 ET Opponents of the new rules argue that they will drive up electricity prices President Obama is set to unveil the most significant American attempt yet made to curb carbon dioxide emissions when he announces new restrictions on existing power plants on Monday. The president is likely to endorse a set of rules drawn up by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) that will seek to limit emissions from 1,600 existing facilities that are responsible for about a third of US CO2 emissions.